Marriage Restriction Amendments and the Same-Sex Marriage Debate

Debates and policies surrounding civil marriage for same-sex couples have social and psychological impacts on lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals and their families and communities. The goal of this issue is to advance the sparse literature on these impacts. The result is an international, interdisciplinary, methodologically and theoretically diverse collection of original empirical articles addressing the psychological effects of marriage restriction amendments, effects of civil marriage for same-sex couples, and effects of anti-gay initiatives on heterosexual allies and intergroup relationships. The findings demonstrate that the denial of civil marriage rights is a public health issue with important implications.